Losing their first game of the season to the No. 5 Syracuse Orange eight days ago, the No. 13 Florida Gators (8-2) were hoping to rebound Saturday evening against the Richmond Spiders (8-3) in the 2009 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Instead, Florida fell 56-53 to their Atlantic 10 opponent, losing their second straight neutral site game, this time in Sunrise, FL, at the BankAtlantic Center. Up eight points at the end of the first half, the Gators allowed the Spiders to mount an 11-0 run in the first 2:02 of the second half to take a 33-32 lead.

Florida shot 7-for-27 in the second half (26 percent) including 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. At one point, they came back to take a 49-48 lead, but relinquished it quickly and never recovered. Richmond guard David Gonzalvez led Richmond shooting 50 percent from the field and 4-for-9 from three-point range to accumulate 16 points on the evening. Star G Kevin Anderson contributed 14 points of his own, going 5-of-7 from the free throw line including four in the last 5.4 seconds of the game.

Junior forward Alex Tyus led the Gators with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin contributed a team-high 11 rebounds though he only shot 2-for-8 from the floor. Hometown stars freshman G Kenny Boynton and sophomore G/F Ray Shipman were held silent on the evening, contributing six points (3-for-12 shooting, 0-for-6 from three) and zero points, respectively. Senior F Dan Werner, junior F Chandler Parsons and sophomore point guard Erving Walker each scored nine points. The Gators were wholly ineffective, shooting 36.2 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from three-point range.

Florida returns to action Tuesday, hosing the South Alabama Jaguars (8-4) at 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Event: Orange Bowl Basketball Classic
Location: BankAtlantic Center – Sunrise, FL [Capacity: 20,737]
Time: 6:30 p.m. (EST)

TV: Sun Sports
Online: GatorVision
Sirius: 211; XM: 199

Odds: Florida -6.5, O/U 129

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Five-star freshman guard Kenny Boynton…has 22 assists with just one turnover in the last three games.
- Senior F Chandler Parsons…who comes off the bench as Florida’s sixth man and is averaging 12.0 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game (team-high). Playing a career-high in minutes, Parsons is UF’s first double-figures scorer off the bench since point guard Anthony Roberson in 2002-03.
- Richmond PG Kevin Anderson…who was named Preseason All-Atlantic 10 first-team and leads his team with 16.8 points per game.

STREAKS:
- Florida is 7-1 when participating in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, with their last loss coming to the UAB Blazers in 1997. The Gators are on a 3-0 streak since returning to the game in 2006.
- The Gators are 1-1 all-time against the Spiders, winning the last meeting 66-52 on March, 19, 1992.
- Florida is 10-11 all-time against the Atlantic 10, 4-2 under Donovan.
- The Gators have shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc in three of their last four games, hitting 12 three-pointers in each of its last two outings.
- Florida leads the nation in three-point field goal defense at 21.5 percent. The team also leads the SEC in points per game allowed.
- Since 2005, the Gators are 24-4 in the month of December.
- In the last six games, Florida has recovered 53 total steals, reaching double-digits in steals three times in that stretch.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. Richmond Spiders preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » OBBC: No. 13 Florida Gators vs. Richmond Spiders

1 » With so many people questioning Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow’s future in the NFL, one city and team that are seemingly fully behind him are Jacksonville, FL, and Tebow’s hometown Jaguars. In addition to revitalizing a franchise that is one of the least financially successful in the NFL, Tebow could add a much-needed character boost to a team that has been desperately trying to catch up with their division-rival Indianapolis Colts for years. The 17,000 fans who chose not to renew their season tickets this past offseason could easily come back if Tebow is drafted to his local team.

2 » Speaking of the Jaguars, former Gators free safety Reggie Nelson allowed not one but two touchdowns Thursday night to the Colts, immediately throwing him in head coach Jack Del Rio‘s doghouse. Nelson has regressed significantly over his last two seasons in Jacksonville, leading many to believe he will be benched this week. “[Nelson] didn’t play well,” Del Rio said. “You can’t stay in the lineup playing like that.”

3 » Gators four-star tight end commitment Gerald Christian, a star for Dwyer High School who is playing in the Class 4A Championship game on Saturday, has started since his freshman year and become an irreplaceable part of both the team’s offense and defense. “He was already a grown man as a sophomore, even as a freshman,” Dwyer defensive coordinator Bobby Sifrit said. “He’s a leader at practice, in school. He’s very smart and even keeled. You couldn’t have a better candidate to [call shots on defense].” Five-star Florida safety commit and Christian’s teammate, Matt Elam, agrees. “He’s a freak with all the stuff he knows,” Elam said.

4 » Gators basketball fans may notice that one of the reasons the team has improved so much in 2009 is a dedication o defense. “Nowhere is Florida’s newfound commitment to defense than from behind the 3-point line,” writes Michael DiRocco of The Florida Times Union. In some ways, the Gators are playing better on defense than even the 2006 and 2007 National Championship teams did at this point through their seasons.

Four-star wide receiver Kenny Stills (Carlsbad, CA) made his commitment official Friday evening, choosing to play football beginning next season in Norman, OK, for the Oklahoma Sooners. Stills, whose other final school was the Florida Gators, has been considered a heavy Oklahoma lean for some time, and many recruiting analysts believe the Gators’ loss of wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Billy Gonzales sealed what was already thought to be an inevitable decision.

Stills, 6’2″ 175 lbs., was one of three California recruits that Florida head coach Urban Meyer has been hot after for his 2010 class. Four-star cornerback Joshua Shaw (Palmdale, CA) committed to the Gators on Nov. 17, and five-star defensive end Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA), declared Florida his leader Thursday night. Powell is rumored to be ready to make his commitment at any time.

Chris Dunkley, a four-star wide receiver from Pahokee, FL, who the Gators have at the very top of their recruiting big board next to Powell, becomes an even more important signing now that Stills has decided not to attend the University of Florida. Like Powell, Dunkley is considered a heavy Florida lean who is also rumored to be a silent commit.

Source: OU Insider

Less than 24 hours after Billy Gonzales stepped down from his post to become the passing game coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer had Zach Azzanni locked up as his new wide receivers coach. Soon after that, Azzanni did a 360 on the recruiting trail, leaving the Central Michigan Chippewas‘s prospects behind and focusing on the Gators’ targets.

For the past week, Azzanni has been feeling his way around – going on recruiting trips, meeting his new coaching mates, getting to know Florida’s current players and finding a place to live as he survives out of his suitcase. On Friday, he participated in his first practice and is still trying to get his feet on the ground. “It’s been a blur to me,” Azzanni told the press Friday. “It happened fast. I got a call last week and got off the road for Central Michigan and got on the road for the University of Florida. This is a dream job and a chance of a lifetime to come and coach with the defending National Champions, and I’m going to take it.”

Since he left CMU, Azzanni’s former head coach Butch Jones also vacated his position, replacing Brian Kelly as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. The media immediately named Azzanni one of the top candidates to replace Jones, even though he had just accepted his new position with the Gators. While he could very well be under consideration, Azzanni has yet to be contacted about the position.

“Hey, that’s flattering,” he said of the speculation. “It’s my alma mater and a great place. But I’m a Gator and I’m here, let’s go. I have not been contacted by them. It’s just rumors and things I can’t control. I don’t know [if they will contact me]. I’m not going to speculate. I’m here wearing a Gator on my shirt and coaching the wideouts as hard as I can.”

Cornerbacks coach Lance Bedford and quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler have also been rumored as candidates for head coaching and coordinator jobs, but Meyer said he has not yet been contacted by any schools asking permission to speak with them. “I just hired a guy and I hear his name is up [for a head coaching job],” Meyer said. “I’ve been blessed with some great coaches. Eventually coach [Steve] Addazio will be a head coach. Charlie [Strong], you knew that was a matter of time. We just have to keep going. This is Florida and you should have great coaches.”

As far as filling Strong’s open defensive coordinator position, Meyer said he has not achieved much on that front. “I’ve been on the road. I just got back,” he said. “I’ve been working the phones and getting bombarded [by interview requests]. There are a lot of things to consider. I don’t want to comment [on who I might hire]. I’m still at the ground stages of it. It’s the puzzle, the alignment.”

Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer, athletic director Jeremy Foley and University of Florida president Bernie Machen unanimously decided Friday to clear junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap to play in the 2010 Sugar Bowl less than three weeks after he was arrested for driving under the influence. Meyer, who made the announcement of Dunlap’s reinstatement after Friday’s practice, had suspended him from the team indefinitely the day after his arrest on Dec. 1.

“[Dunlap is] going to play if he takes care [of some things],” Meyer said. “[I talked] with the administration, with the president and also the athletic director. What was involved was it was his first mistake. It was a real serious one, but he paid a serious price as well. It was a real serious mistake. But since he’s been here he’s been a good student, a good person and represented us well. It devastated him. There were a lot of discussions. No previous track record. It’s case-by-case. If there was another issue, it would be an issue, and there hasn’t been. That’s basically what the administration let me know. They actually let me know.”

Discuss: Do you agree with UF’s decision to clear Dunlap to return this season?

Chicago Bulls forward/center Joakim Noah is an unabashed Florida Gators fan. Considering he is a two-time National Champion who stayed in school an extra year (even with the potential to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft) because he loved Gainesville, FL, so much and wanted to play another year with the Oh-Fours, Noah’s fandom should not be a surprise to anyone.

ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedel caught up with Noah before the 2009 SEC Championship game two weeks ago and spoke with him about a number of Gator-centric topics. For OGGOA‘s purposes, we found his answer to a question about senior quarterback Tim Tebow to be the most interesting. Friedel asked Noah, “Could [Tebow] play basketball if he wanted to?”

“I think he could play anything he wants,” Noah replied. “People always say that Tebow won’t be a pro quarterback and there’s a lot of doubters, but I think that his character’s going to get him through so much. And I think he’s going to become a very good quarterback in the NFL when he’s done with anything. Because of his character and what he’s made of. He’s not going to let go. He’s going to just keep fighting until he reaches his ultimate goal. I think that character means a lot in sports and I think that people underestimate that a lot. And I think that he got it.”

According to the University of Florida, 30 student-athletes will be earning their degrees in commencement ceremonies on campus over the weekend. Eleven Florida Gators football players and four baseball players lead the pack that also includes some of the best and most accomplished athletes in school history like football’s Tim Tebow, softball’s Stacey Nelson and baseball’s Matt LaPorta. OGGOA readers can view the entire list below as compiled by the University Athletic Association.
Continue Reading » Florida student-athletes graduating in Fall 2009